Thursday, June 29, 2017

Algorithms: can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em! Algorithms are basically built on interpreting and programming patterns of behavior. What could possibly go wrong? They're great when their accuracy delivers results you're guaranteed to like. Not so great when they veer off into uncharted territory. Think about it this way.

At the core of today's crisis in a dangerously glib attitude toward consent coupled with an extremely selfish interpretation of what promiscuity allows. Back in the 1970s, when free love was associated with the new policy of permissiveness ("If it feels good, do it"), casual sex was often enjoyed by people who (regardless of how stoned they might have been) were usually consenting adults. Those who frequented gay bathhouses and sex clubs certainly knew what they were looking for when they paid the price of admission.

In 1987, director Peter Sellars staged a controversial production of Don Giovanni which updated the action to the present and set it in Spanish Harlem. Reconceiving the title character as a heroin addict who depends on his pimp and drug supplier, Sellars found a unique way to stage the deceptive role switch whereby Don Giovanni trades places with Leporello in his 1991 video of his production by casting identical twins Herbert and Eugene Perry. As you can see from this clip of the Act I finale -- in which a impressively buff Don Giovanni strips down to his tighty whities -- Sellars also made the production much more overtly sexual than opera audiences were used to seeing (you can watch the full opera with English subtitles by clicking here).

Knowing now what many didn't understand then, it is possible to re-examine an operatic classic through a more probing and sexually-enlightened lens.

Is Don Giovanni nothing more than an uncontrollable sex addict constantly looking for a warm hole to penetrate?

“Don Giovanni is the mirror of society, a mirror that shows defects, that shows dark secrets, that shows the characters onstage as they really are, and shows the deepest and darkest side of each one of us. He is an example of a man who doesn’t take responsibility for anything he does while breaking the laws that hold society together. He’s the negation of all the 18th-century values: reason, logic, enlightenment. He’s pure instinct, which is why the 19th century loved this work so much. He challenges us to resist, yet his seduction power is endless, so it’s up to us to follow him into hell or try to survive by accepting our weaknesses and flaws.”

Ildebrando D’Arcangelo as Don Giovanni in the San Francisco Opera's

production of Mozart's 1787 classic (Photo by: Cory Weaver)

“This is the fascination of mystery, evil, perdition, and that element of self-destruction that each one of us has inside. Don Giovanni gets away with everything because he’s incredibly wealthy. He’s constantly on the move because he’s curious and has a deep craving for life, lust, and women. He cannot stop. Don Giovanni doesn’t have his own musical language but, like a chameleon, he hides inside the other characters’ music. He talks all the time, but we never have any introspection.”

“Mozart's opera has been around for a long time and the music is popular. The opera deals with a rich young nobleman who uses his money and influence to manipulate and take advantage of women. After reading through, it became very clear to me that the original intention of the authors was that this is not a hero. This guy is not seducing women with his charm. He may be nice, he may be good-looking, but it is clear he is using status, money and the threat of force. After all, at the end he’s dragged down to hell.”

Andrea Silvestrelli (The Commendatore) and Ildebrando D’Arcangelo
(Don Giovanni) in a scene from the San Francisco Opera's
production of Mozart's 1787 classic (Photo by: Cory Weaver)

Queen City Opera advertised its production as “A dark comedy about a sleazy young nobleman who receives a supernatural punishment for committing rape and murder. Featuring the best music ever.” As part of its community outreach, it partnered with the educational departments of Jewish Family Services and Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio. Workshops entitled “Seduction? Or Rape?” included explanations of what constitutes consent, followed by excerpts from Mozart's opera performed by the cast of Don Giovanni. After the excerpts, viewers were asked if what had happened was consensual or not. As Selya explains:

“Don Giovanni has universal truths. It’s sad that they’re still relevant, but you can still parse it with our modern viewpoint. If you market the opera as the sexy young guy seducing sexy young women, that sells tickets but it does a disservice. If you strip away the marketing and traditions and look at what the opera is about, you see the violence.”

Ildebrando D’Arcangelo as Don Giovanni in the San Francisco Opera's
production of Mozart's 1787 classic (Photo by: Cory Weaver)

Sometimes an opera you think you know fairly well can really surprise you. Although I had planned to attend the June 21 performance of Don Giovanni at the San Francisco Opera, I was feeling quite tired that afternoon. Luckily, I managed to squeeze in a brief nap and, by the time I arrived at the War Memorial Opera House, was feeling much better. If I was keeping my expectations fairly low, that's because this production had been quite disappointing when it was unveiled in 2011 and Don Giovanni has never been one of my favorite operas. News reports of cast changes prior to opening night seemed like dark clouds over the horizon.

And then, a welcome surprise. With the help of projections and scenic adaptations by Tommi Brem, director Jacopo Spirei had done a stunning job of revitalizing this production. The 21 giant mirrors (six feet wide, 16 feet tall, and weighing approximately 300 pounds apiece) had been repurposed so that they could function as visual gateways into Lorenzo Da Ponte's libretto and some of the characters' internal thoughts.

The finale of the San Francisco Opera's production of
Mozart's Don Giovanni (Photo by: Cory Weaver)

To make matters even more exciting, four out of the five principals were making their company debuts. Ildebrando D'Arcangelo was a robust Don Giovanni who, through an odd optical trick, seemed like a towering hedonist when surrounded by peasants but, when seen against the much taller Masetto (Michael Sumuel) and Commendatore (Andrea Silvestrelli) was suddenly transformed into an aggressive runt overcompensating for his size. As Leporello, Erwin Schrott turned in the kind of musical and dramatic performance one dreams about experiencing. He was matched by the formidable Donna Elvira of Ana María Martínez, who made more out of the role than almost any soprano I've ever seen in five decades of operagoing.

Making his U.S. debut as Don Ottavio, Stanislas de Barbeyrac was in fine vocal form, offering a sturdy foil to Erin Wall's impassioned Donna Anna. Sarah Shafer's Zerlina, Michael Sumuel's Masetto, and Andrea Silvestrelli's Commendatore rounded out the cast in supporting roles. In his company debut, Mark Minkowski's conducting laid a solid foundation for a compelling performance.

It's extremely rare for an opera company to so drastically reconceptualize a new production that has only been used for one season. Although Alessandro Camera's physical sets and Andrea Viotti's costumes have pretty much remained intact, Tommi Brem's projections (coupled with Gary Marder's lighting designs) delivers the operatic equivalent of some desperately needed cosmetic surgery. Here's the trailer:

* * * * * * * * *

While wine and cheese are expected to get better with age, the same cannot be said for all gay men. Whatever the cause of their dyspepsia, bitter queens are everywhere. I can still remember how upset a man I knew in the 1980s became when he discovered that being hung like a horse was no longer enough to guarantee getting laid. With friends dying all around them, some gay men had become paranoid about having sex. The popular refrain ("I'd eat a mile of that man's shit just to see where it came from") had changed to "No dick is worth dying for."

Early in the film, he is seen ushering a trick out the door -- a hustler who resents the fact that Sam has not paid him as much as he initially promised. When a young man hits on Sam in a local bar, he's initially surprised that Braeden (Zachary Booth) would be sexually interested in someone nearly twice his age. After they fuck, Sam casually hands Braeden $500, stressing that he's not paying Braeden as a prostitute, it's because he likes him.

Zachary Booth and Alan Cumming in a scene from After Louie

What Sam does not initially know is that Braeden is in a relationship with another young man (Anthony Johnston) and, while they have agreed to an open relationship, Lukas is none too happy to discover that money is now a part of Braeden's sexual adventures.

Among Sam's cohort of old friends are Maggie (Sarita Choudhury) and her husband, Jeffrey (Patrick Breen) and his lover, Mateo (Wilson Cruz), and Julian (Everett Quinton), a retired art professor who is one of Sam's former lovers. Sam's agent, Rhona (Justin Vivian Bond), wishes he would get out of his artistic rut and do something new with his talent but Sam can't stop obsessing over pictures, letters, and home movies of his old friend, William Wilson (David Drake), who died of AIDS.

Alan Cumming in a scene from After Louie

Sam has no problem inflicting his unhappiness on others. He becomes extremely obnoxious at a gallery showing for a younger artist (Eric Berryman). When Jeffrey and Mateo announce that they've just been married, Sam ruins their moment of joy by launching into a blistering tirade about why gay marriage (as a concept) is so politically incorrect and why it is morally reprehensible to him on a deeply personal level. Later, after a severely misguided attempt to film Braeden and Lukas, the sun of Sam proves too scorching for the young couple to maintain contact with him.

Temporarily estranged from his friends and still grappling with survivor's guilt, Sam finally makes peace with an unfinished bit of business from his past. As he was dying, William had drawn up intricate plans for his memorial service (a Christmas celebration he would not live long enough to enjoy) that Sam never got around to arranging. As director Vincent Gagliostro explains:

“After Louie makes sense of contemporary gay life through the story of Sam, a man who came of age during the AIDS crisis, who must take a step back to understand how he and his community got to where they are today. To do that, he must first meet a guileless guide to the younger generation of gay men, a 29-year old writer named Braeden. Sam was a member of the AIDS political activist group ACT UP and saw most of his friends die several decades ago; Braeden is part of a generation that knows about the AIDS crisis, but has never had to deal with the trauma that so informs Sam’s life, then and now.”

Alan Cumming and Zachary Booth in a scene from After Louie

“After Louie will be a testament to the joys of the fully lived life and the inseparability of art and living. My film is a portrait of what happened to us – the generation who endured the AIDS epidemic, a generation whose shared history continues to haunt us. In confronting the end of a traumatic era and provoking a conversation between generations, I dare us to dream of a new and vibrant future, again.”

Alan Cumming stars in After Louie

There's some very impressive work to be seen in After Louie with Alan Cumming and Zachary Booth carrying the brunt of the emotional load on their shoulders. However, two extremely talented actors nearly steal the show. One is Patrick Breen who, as Jeffrey, eventually reads Sam the riot act. The other is Quinton Everett, whose radiant performance as Julian is, by itself, a compelling reason to watch After Louie. Here's the trailer:

Monday, June 26, 2017

For most of the 1960s I spent my summers at a YMCA sailing camp in Rhode Island. It was a closed environment that was almost entirely male, extremely white, and relatively free from the pressures of daily life in the outside world. Back in those days cable television, the Internet, and social media had not even been invented. Boys could be boys (focusing mainly on sports) and the environment nurtured a sense of brotherhood and fair play that was almost idyllic. The only time we were allowed to watch television was on July 21, 1969 at 2:56 UTC, when those willing to get up in the middle of the night convened in the mess hall to watch Neil Armstrong become the first man to walk on the surface of the moon.

"This blaming of the black victim stands in the way of change that might prevent more victims of violent policing in the future. Could it be that some Americans would rather black people die than their perceptions of America? Is black death more palatable than accepting the racist reality of slaveholding America, of segregating America, of mass-incarcerating America? Is black death the cost of maintaining the myth of a just and meritorious America? People seem determined to exonerate the police officer because they are determined to exonerate America."

"To diagnose police officers’ lethal fears as racist, juries and prosecutors would also have to diagnose their own fears of black bodies as racist. That is a tall task. It may even be easier to get a racist cop convicted of murdering a black person than it is to get a racist American to acknowledge his or her own racism. Racist Americans keep justice as far away from black death as possible to keep the racist label as far away from themselves as possible. And in exonerating the police officer and America of racism, people end up exonerating themselves."

“It takes one generation growing up with a narrative trope to see that narrative trope as 'natural.' Spinning out from the narrative trope ‘Black = DANGER’ are the racist cultural notions that Black people are tougher and do not feel pain like we do; Black people commit more crimes; Black people ruin property values; Black fathers abandon their children. Our culture is saturated with these slanders, and they are quite literally killing people. We can actively fight white supremacy with the narratives we put into the culture, or we can continue to be complicit in creating the culture that leads to the deaths of people like Philando Castile, Charleena Lyles, Tamir Rice, and so, so, so many others. It's not enough to just cast Black artists and produce Black work (although that is an excellent start). White supremacy itself needs to be pulled up from the roots because we are hurting all people of color.”

Theatre artist Melissa Hillman

“Every cultural movement, for good or for ill, had a master narrative at the back of it, created by artists and writers. Examine the master narratives behind the work you produce, because they're there, whether you examine them or not. The dehumanizing tropes we create and disseminate through our plays, films, TV shows, video games, books, web series, music videos, fiction, and nonfiction are quite literally getting people killed. Examine what messages your work puts out into the culture, both in its processes and its product. My fellow purveyors of narrative, we can either work intentionally to disrupt these tropes or we can work to reinforce white supremacy. There is no in between.”

Bay area audiences were recently exposed to two stunning dramas about the black experience in America.

One cast a black man as the oppressor; the other cast the black man as the oppressed.

One had its world premiere 92 years ago, the other is receiving its world premiere from a small theatre company in Berkeley.

One featured a black matriarch easily taken in by a con man posing as a preacher; the other featured a black matriarch who had experienced more than her fair share of tragedy and was susceptible to any bullshit dancing on the silver tongues of men who would play her for a fool.

* * * * * * * * *

In recent years, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival has been highlighting the work of the groundbreaking African-American filmmaker, Oscar Micheaux. This year's selection was 1925's Body and Soul in which the 27-year-old Paul Robeson made his screen debut as a pair of twins. As the goodly Sylvester, he portrayed a poor, but conscientious man whose inventions showed great promise. As the two-faced Rev. Isaiah T. Jenkins, he portrayed an escaped convict posing as a corrupt preacher intent on stealing the life savings of one of the congregation's most devout parishioners, a hard-working laundress named Martha Jane (Mercedes Gilbert) who had kept her family afloat by ironing clothes and picking cotton.

Paul Robeson as Sylvester (the good twin) in Body and Soul

Paul Robeson as the Reverend Isaiah T. Jenkins (the evil twin)

Although Martha Jane's daughter, Isabelle (Julia Theresa Russell), is in love with the handsome Sylvester, her gullible mother is an easy target for a charismatic swindler posing as a man of the cloth. While Body and Soul showcased Robeson’s dramatic versatility, it was the only film he made with an African American director. In supporting roles, Lawrence Chenault appeared as the reverend's former jailmate (Yello-Curley Hinds) while two elders of the church were portrayed by Walter Cornick as Brother Amos and Chester A. Alexander as Deacon Simpkins. Two pious ladies of the church (Lillian Johnson as Sis Caline and Madame Robinson as Sis Lucy) were seen as close friends of Martha Jane.

Lawrence Chenault as Yello-Curly Hines with Paul Robeson as

the Reverend Isaiah T. Jenkins in a scene from Body and Soul

After Jenkins convinces Isabelle to take the blame for his theft of her mother's money, she flees from Tatesville to Atlanta. A desperate Martha Jane finds Isabelle who, before she dies, tells her mother that Jenkins had raped her after stealing Martha Jane's money.

As I watched Body and Soul certain overly histrionic patches seemed to strain credibility (partly due to Mercedes Gilbert's acting). However, after the audience learns that what they have witnessed was really a bad dream, the film ends with Martha Jane bestowing her savings upon Sylvester and Isabelle as a wedding gift. With live musical accompaniment by DJ Spooky and Guenter Buchwald, a restored print from Kino Lorber was screened at the Castro Theatre. As Susan Doll explained in her program note:

“Robeson’s twin roles represent two archetypes familiar to African Americans: Stagger Lee the hustler/trickster versus Booker T. Washington’s self-made man. In Micheaux’s view, they represent the two paths available to African American men. His mission was to point out the folly of the wrong path.”

Paul Robeson as the Reverend Isaiah T. Jenkins (the evil twin)

“Complicating any assessment of individual films is the censorship Micheaux experienced at the hands of state and local censor boards. New York censors did not accept the director’s original nine-reel version of Body and Soul, rejecting it outright on November 5, 1925, for being sacrilegious and for inciting audiences to commit crimes. Micheaux resubmitted the film a few days later, making it clear through title cards and an insert of a news article that Isaiah T. Jenkins is an escaped convict masquerading as a reverend. The censors rejected Body and Soul again, prompting Micheaux to reduce the film to five reels, cutting it nearly in half. The worst behavior of the reverend was passed on to another character and most of the scenes involving drinking and gambling were eliminated. In February 1927, he submitted a seven-reel version to the Chicago censors, who rejected it for its scandalous depiction of a Protestant minister. He recut it for those censors as well.”

Body and Soul was pretty much unknown to white audiences for many years. In 2000, the New York Film Festival screened Michaux's film with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra performing a new score composed by Wycliffe Gordon. At the Castro screening,I found the samplings by DJ Spooky to be a thrilling addition to the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Thankfully, a restored print of Body and Soul is available on YouTube (see below).

* * * * * * * * *

One of the rewards of being a theatre critic is to witness the birth of an exciting new drama that is rich in humanity, bursting with life, and has a voice all its own. Because of the economics of live theatre, such plays frequently receive their world premieres from small regional theatre companies.

Thanks to the National New Play Network's ability to encourage the sharing of resources and choreograph rolling world premieres among several theatre companies, a playwright's new work can be seen by multiple audiences in diverse cities within a relatively short period of time. On other occasions, a world premiere may be a stand-alone effort. Some of the more impressive world premieres witnessed by Bay area audiences in recent years include:

"I heard a reading of brownsville song (b-side for tray) in the 2013 Bay Area Playwrights Festival and fell in love with the play. The joy and pain expressed in the 90-minute run-time was a beautiful roller coaster ride that somehow left me hopeful. Hopeful that the audience that witnessed this story with me was reminded that the death of someone to gun violence affects everyone and everything around them. Hopeful that, after seeing this play, the people of these audiences will be motivated to do something to eliminate gun violence in their respective communities. Each individual who falls victim to gun violence has a name, a family, and a community. Kimber Lee gives us an opportunity to pay homage to all those families and communities who have been victims to gun violence. Lee reminds us that we are all a part of these concentric circles of death and love."

David Morales (Tray) and Cathleen Riddley (Lena) in a scene frombrownsville song (b-side for tray) (Photo by: Cheshire Isaacs)

Lee's protagonist is a hyperactive teenager (David Morales) and aspiring boxer from a broken family that has been held together by the tough love of his fearsome grandmother (Cathleen Riddley). After Lena's son was killed with four bullets to the chest and his second wife's alcoholism made Merrell (Erin Mei-Ling Stuart) unfit to take care of Tray and his kid sister, Devine (Mimia Ousilas), the children came to live with Lena.

Mimia Ouisilas (Devine) and David Morales (Tray) in a scene frombrownsville song (b-side for tray) (Photo by: Cheshire Isaacs)

While Lena worked two jobs (often to the point of exhaustion) and made sure there was food on the table, Tray and Devine learned how to entertain each other while growing sensitive to their sibling's moods and needs. Tray's ability to charm Devine out of her moments of extreme shyness stays with her even after her brother takes "four to the chest" from a member of a local gang simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Working on a unit set designed by Randy Wong-Westbrooke (with lighting by Allen Willner, costumes by Katherine Nowacki, and sound designed by Joel Gimbell II), Margo Hall does a splendid job of eliciting powerhouse performances from Morales and Riddley, two magnetic performers who bring a surge of electricity to the stage whenever they are in front of the audience.

Cathleen Riddley as Lena in a scene from Kimber Lee's new playbrownsville song (b-side for tray) (Photo by: Cheshire Isaacs)

The two leads receive strong support from Mimia Ousilas as the shy young sister and Erin Mei-Ling Stuart as the recovering stepmother who ends up being interviewed for a job at Starbucks by her own stepson (Tray). William Hartfield has some nice moments as Tray's baggy-pantsed childhood friend (Junior) as well as a black hipster ordering a complicated cup of coffee.

As she did so beautifully in tokyo fish story, Lee delivers moments of great poignancy and poetry through her words as well as her characters' actions. Tray's inherent goodness manifests itself in a beautiful speech in which he tells Lena why Merrell deserves a break and offers his grandmother a lesson in forgiveness as another form of tough love. Similarly, when Merrell freezes while trying to learn how to use an electronic cash register, Tray quietly comes to her rescue with fingers moving so fast and effortlessly that it communicates the difference in motor skills that come naturally to different generations.

This is an achingly beautiful and thrilling new drama, lovingly crafted and magnificently acted by a tight ensemble. While I look forward to future works from Kimber Lee, I have to admit that it has become frighteningly easy to take for granted the artistic contributions that Cathleen Riddley and Margo Hall make to the Bay area theatre scene. These are two highly gifted and deeply passionate artists who always set the bar for excellence at impressive heights. Rest assured that young David Morales is already nipping at their heels.

Erin Mei-Ling Stuart (Merrell) and David Morales (Tray) in a scene
from brownsville song (b-side for tray) (Photo by: Cheshire Isaacs)

Performances of brownsville song (b-side for tray) continue through July 9 at the Shotgun Players in Berkeley (click here for tickets).

Saturday, June 24, 2017

As I rode a MUNI bus toward the War Memorial Opera House the other day, I witnessed a family situation that, alas, has become all too familiar. A young father was seated across from me, intensely focused on his smartphone. Strapped into a stroller in front of him was his young son, who kept trying to get the man's attention. No amount of touching or vocalizing caused the man to look up from his phone. After the toddler dropped his juice bottle (which rolled under the father's seat), the man kept his eyes locked on his phone.

As the bus traveled toward its next stop I debated whether to call the man's attention to his squirming son but decided to wait and see what would happen. When the bus came to a stop and several passengers filed by the stroller in order to get to the door, I waved at the man to get his attention. After I explained that the boy's bottle had fallen under his seat, the disinterested parent went right back to focusing on his smartphone.

I thought that would be the end of it. But I was wrong. Oh, so very wrong. An elderly woman a few seats away from me launched into a loud tirade against the man, demanding that he take action and asking why he wasn't paying attention to his child. The young father looked at her as if she had just escaped from a mental institution and immediately went back to staring at his phone (which just goes to prove that not all Millennials become helicopter parents).

It's no secret that many people have become phone zombies. We see them walking across busy intersections while looking down at their smartphones; some are too busy trying to take a selfie to realize they might be in imminent danger.

For parents who are not so disengaged, protecting their children from harm means placing the child's health and welfare above their own desires. Sometimes parents are forced to acknowledge that their child's happiness depends, in large part, on desires beyond a parent's control. Depending on the society and culture in which children are raised and learn how to assert themselves, what will make them happy can embody a parent's greatest fears.

* * * * * * * * *

I'm always fascinated by the films that the Frameline Film Festival selects for its Worldly Affairs program of shorts. Two stood out during the 2017 festival, giving the audience a fleeting glimpse of life outside the puritanical culture that infects much of these United States. Written and directed by Marco Leão and André Santos, Pedro starts out as a young Portuguese man (Filipe Abreu) returns home from his night job as dawn breaks over the coastal city in which he lives.

Filipe Abreu stars in Pedro

Before Pedro can fall asleep and get some rest, his mother (Rita Durão) insists that he take her to the beach. She wants to get there early, before it gets crowded with lots of other people. Upon arriving, however, they discover a nearly empty beach. In the parking lot, Pedro exchanges a lustful glance with an older man (João Villas-Boas) who is obviously cruising.

Rita Durão, Filipe Abreu, and João Villas-Boas in a scene from Pedro

After Pedro and his mother return from a brief dip in the ocean, the stranger stops by their blanket to ask for a cigarette. Once again, Pedro's mother (who has been preoccupied with whether or not her boyfriend is going to meet her at the beach) is too distracted to notice the tacit looks exchanged between the two men. When his mother's date (Marcello Urgeghe) finally arrives, Pedro excuses himself and heads for a rendezvous in the bushes with the handsome stranger.

Gladhys Elliona Syahutari (Gita) and
Otig Pakis (Fausi) in a scene from Pria

With his entire life planned out for him by an overprotective mother, Aris struggles with conflicting notions of tradition, duty and his own personal idea of happiness. Yudho Aditya's film captures the fear, confusion, and helplessness Aris feels at being forced into a lifestyle he doesn't want (especially when he feels no desire for a woman). It doesn't take much for the viewer to realize that Aris is developing a crush on Peter, a very white man who looks every bit as exotic to the young Indonesian as Aris might to someone from Ireland.

Chicco Kurniawan (Aris) and his mother
(Karlina Inawati) in a scene from Pria

Aris's mother (who appears to be single) is determined to lay a foundation for her son's happiness within the structure and strictures of the culture they know. When Aris finally gets up the courage to visit Peter and ask for guidance, a solution is found which will allow Aris to remain single without shaming his mother. In his director's statement, Yudho Aditya writes:

“I’ve made films ever since I was 13. Never once have I ever considered myself a 'political' filmmaker (I’m never very good at playing politics). I initially started making films mainly for me -- for the kid in me that was ostracized, alienated and muted; the kid that never felt like he really belonged anywhere. Ironically, as with the case of making Pria, the deeper I tapped into these insecurities and the more I wanted to explore and understand them, the more I realized how universal these sentiments are.”

Filmmaker Yudho Aditya

“As people who identify as LGBT, we are already alone -- empty even -- lost within the sea of heteronormative exclusivity. Forging an identity that is embraced and celebrated within an inclusive community is something we dream of. While, in the United States, this dream is becoming more real (slowly but surely and not without its problems), in places like Indonesia it’s not even a concept that people can fathom. Whether you’re a gay black kid from Michigan or a gay Hispanic from Peru or even a gay American from Indonesia, your voice and experiences should still matter. They deserve to be told just as much as anyone else’s.”

* * * * * * * * *

While the plots of many operas include young women who have been promised in marriage to men they do not love (women whose fathers seem to have no qualms about using their daughters as bargaining chips in arranging a marriage that might bring them political as well as economic benefits), Rigoletto is one of the few operas in which an overly protective father desperately tries to keep his daughter's existence a secret in order to protect her from his political enemies. As the late Verdi scholar, Julian Budden, once wrote:

"What were the qualities that attracted Verdi so strongly to Victor Hugo's play, Le Roi s’amuse? First of all, surely, the 'divided nature' of the protagonist. Up to then his leading characters had been relatively monochromatic, actuated by similar impulses throughout. The court jester Triboulet gave him the opportunity of filling out a personality in all its human contradictions. The play is a drama of paternity, a relationship which never failed to evoke a deep response from a man who had lost both his children in their infancy; hence his long held but ultimately unrealized ambition to write a Re Lear. Lastly, there was his desire, expressed earlier on, to 'unite the comic with the terrible in Shakespeare’s manner.' The subject of a court jester would allow him to do precisely that."

Quinn Kelsey as Rigoletto (Photo by: Cory Weaver)

One of the most frequently overlooked factors in staging productions of Rigoletto is the unbridled hatred that many members of the Duke of Mantua's court feel for Rigoletto. The Duke's jester has, after all, used his acid tongue to lambaste and humiliate most of them but, because he is protected by the Duke, there is no way for anyone to get back at Rigoletto until they discover his carefully-guarded secret.

Inspired by the paintings of Giorgio de Chirico, Michael Yeargan used the artist’s juxtaposition of the ordinary with the fantastic (as well as de Chirico's skewed perspectives) as a basis for his set design for Rigoletto. As he explains:

“In the most simplistic terms, Rigoletto is about a father's curse that fulfills itself. De Chirico’s paintings have a surreal quality that suggests a world of impending doom: that unsettling, airless feeling one gets before a huge storm is about to unleash itself. So when this production was first conceived, we unapologetically used elements from those paintings to satisfy the specific needs of the libretto, while at the same time preserving that feeling of an impending storm -- when the father's curse is fulfilled."

Michael Yeargan's set for Act II of Rigoletto
(Photo by: Cory Weaver)

As much as I love the physical look of the San Francisco Opera's 1997 production of Rigoletto, a recent performance surprised me by the way previously unacknowledged design elements sabotaged key points in the opera's plot. Although a pre-performance announcement indicated that the soprano singing the role of Rigoletto's daughter, Gilda (Nino Machaidze) was ill, that was no reason for the lack of electricity in the performance I witnessed.

No one at the Duke's court seemed to be the slightest bit afraid of Rigoletto (Quinn Kelsey). Instead, they clustered together clad in Constance Hoffman's mostly black costumes like a darkly lit blob, passively commenting on the Duke's misadventures and the humiliation of the Count Ceprano (Anthony Reed).

Although she seemed to get through Acts II and III with sufficient power, Machaidze's withdrawal from the performance was announced during the set change between Acts II and III. Maria Valdes stepped in and took over the role of Gilda in Act III, handsomely acquitting herself as the doomed heroine.

This San Francisco Opera production of Rigoletto is now 20 years old. In its first two seasons (1997 and 2001) it was directed by Mark Lamos. In 2006 and 2012 it was staged by Harry Silverstein. While the physical production is holding up quite well (and Nicola Luisotti conducted with admirable passion), I have to wonder about the strength of Rob Kearly's stage direction, which seemed to hit all of its marks but was nevertheless sorely lacking in dramatic tension.

Despite Gary Marder's superb lighting and Lawrence Pech's choreography, something was missing at the core of the production. It certainly wasn't the fault of Kelsey Quinn's robust Rigoletto or Zanda Švēde's lusty Maddalena. Could it have been Pene Pati's oversized but bravely sung Duke? Or a darker voiced Gilda without any semblance of a trill? I honestly cannot pinpoint the problem. All I can say is that I left the performance surprised by the way such a passionate opera could feel so mechanical. Meh!

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

During his presidential campaign, a man with a long history of discriminating against minorities in his real estate businesses told African-Americans to trust him. "What have you got to lose?" he asked. Now that he's in the White House, Donald Trump wants loyalty. Bully for him.

A textbook case of what happens when someone tries to live up to their own publicity, Trump has no compunction about assuming that his celebrity and newly-acquired political power can keep him above the law. However, like respect, love, and a good reputation, trust must be earned over a long period of time and can be obliterated in an instant. As Jonathan Swift wrote in 1710, "Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it."

While some may have found Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? to be shockingly vulgar, few understood that it was way ahead of its time. Back in 1962, there was no way for people to know how miserably language would deteriorate over the following half century. We are now at a point where pre-pubescents call each other "bitches," the Real Housewives formula has been replicated in numerous countries around the globe, hip hop artists include all kinds of profanity in their rap lyrics, and the President of the United States has been heard boasting about how he loves to grab women by their pussies. In 2011, a new play by Stephen Adly Guirgis entitled The Motherfucker With The Hat premiered on Broadway!

What many people overlooked was the simple fact that Albee hit on a winning formula: Put two married couples together. Let them make nice when introduced. Then place them together in the psychological equivalent of a crucible, plant the seeds of suspicion and/or resentment, and let jealousy and doubt take over. Rob these people of their most precious delusions and expose their deepest secrets, stripping them of their defenses (with one couple covering up for their inability to have a child and the other hiding a mysteriously inconvenient hysterical pregnancy, Albee hit pay dirt).

Chen's characters are two interracial couples with interesting backstories. Lindsey (Lauren English) is a Caucasian woman whose success as a corporate lawyer is no doubt due to the fact that her mind is as sharp as a tack. Her Chinese-American husband, Daniel (Don Castro), works for a large tech firm based in Silicon Valley.

Don Castro (Dan) and Lauren English (Lindsey) in a scene
from You Mean To Do Me Harm (Photo by: Ken Levin)

Ben (James Asher) has recently been offered a job at the company where Dan works. After having lived in China for several years, he's found doors opening for him simply because he's a white guy who has some knowledge of Chinese culture. While Ben may be a fairly laid-back kind of guy who doesn't sweat the small stuff, his Chinese-American wife, Samantha (Charisse Loriaux), has a habit of noticing petty details about the behavior and conversation of the men she meets. When Samantha and Ben interviewed for the same job, she didn't hesitate to sabotage her husband's chances of being hired because (a) she felt that, as a Chinese-American, she was better qualified for the position and (b) she was not about to be passed over for a key opportunity because of her husband's white privilege. How did Samantha and Lindsey meet? They work at the same company.

Charisse Loriaux (Samantha) and James Asher (Ben) in a scene
from You Mean To Do Me Harm (Photo by: Ken Levin)

The fact that Ben and Lindsey once dated years ago and that, during dinner, Ben fondly mentions a camping trip they took together, is enough of an irritant to Dan's fragile ego to generate doubt about Ben's motives and Lindsey's responses. Ben's simple throwaway remark at their dinner party causes Dan's insecurities to start spiraling out of control, making him wonder if Ben poses a sexual threat to his marriage.

Lauren English (Lindsey) and Charisse Loriaux (Samantha) in a
scene from You Mean To Do Me Harm (Photo by: Ken Levin)

As Chen's intricately-plotted 90-minute play unravels, the audience follows a series of two-character vignettes, starting with a discussion between Lindsey and Dan that transitions to a conversation between Dan and Ben. Likewise, a tense exchange between Ben and Samantha is followed by a surprisingly candid confrontation between Samantha and Lindsey.

Any assumptions an audience member may have made at the beginning of the play are shredded with clinical precision while revealing how the two women see very different things happening than their husbands do. The perspectives of those who grew up in a Chinese or Chinese-American family reveal startling insights into the privileged behavior of the Caucasians they encounter. As Chen has stressed in the past, “It’s my firm belief that the way to move through life is to constantly question and interrogate whatever so-called truths are put right before your face."

Don Castro (Dan) and Charisse Loriaux (Samantha) in a scene
from You Mean To Do Me Harm (Photo by: Ken Levin)

The four-actor ensemble does some breathtaking work as they hack away at each other's deceits, analyze false assumptions, dissect easily overlooked micro aggressions, and manipulate their spouses and friends whenever they sense an advantage. Chen has always had a strong skill for crafting dialogue, but in this play he seems to have broken through to a new level. Although his characters' words may overlap, there is an underlying musicality to his dialogue (which is crafted and delivered with the effectiveness of nanotechnology).

James Asher (Ben) and Lauren English (Lindsey) in a scene
from You Mean To Do Me Harm (Photo by: Ken Levin)

"Mr. Chen has given us a much-needed story about young urban professionals -- witty, brilliant, sophisticated, but still struggling to define themselves and find their place in a society lacking moral guidelines and infected by subtle and insidious forms of racism. A fateful dinner party ignites cultural misunderstandings and conflicts, embroiling two racially-mixed couples in a nightmarish series of events that spiral increasingly out of control, spinning them (and us) into a surreal landscape where we're never quite sure where reality ends and paranoia begins. Set against the backdrop of Sino-American political and business relations, You Mean To Do Me Harm focuses on the way racial misunderstandings and micro-aggressions are expressed in the microcosm of personal relationships. Mr. Chen pulls the rug out from under his characters (and us) by twisting the nature of the play's metaphysics so that we understand what it must be like to be an outsider in the white world where what one is led to believe can never quite be trusted. By throwing us into this Rashoman-like world of multiple unprovable truths, we are led to an understanding of how unmoored those from minority cultures can feel."

The cast of You Mean To Do Me Harm (Photo by: Ken Levin)

Performances of You Mean To Do Me Harm continue at the Rueff Theatre through July 2 (click here for tickets).

Lee's warplay (which was commissioned and developed as part of New Conservatory Theatre Center's New Play Development Lab) is the company's third world premiere this season. Inspired by The Iliad, warplay offers a vastly different perspective on the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus than Homer described in his epic poem. While some have called this relationship one of the oldest love stories in Western literature, it is best known as one of the earliest published tales about a same-sex relationship that may not have been merely platonic.

In warplay, two men are identified simply by their initials. The Achilles character, "A" (Ed Berkeley), has gone through life convinced that he is a hero. Butch, brave, and built like a brick shithouse, he has always been an impressive specimen of male beauty who is completely comfortable in his own skin. "A" sees himself as a natural leader who has (naturally) been chosen for this role by the Gods. With an unshakable faith in the kind of games that must be played in order to prepare for war, he is the very model of an ancient Greek warrior.

Ed Berkeley in a scene from warplay (Photo by: Lois Tema)

"A" is not, however, perfect. As his best friend from childhood is quick to point out, "A" is at least 34% sociopathic, oozes high levels of toxic masculinity and, throughout his life, has had everything handed to him on a silver platter. In short, "A" has never been challenged to earn anyone's love.

The Patroclus figure, "P" (JD Scalzo), offers a marked contrast to "A's" many manly virtues. Skittish, analytical, capable of feeling fear, and occasionally hysterical, he is riddled with conflicting emotions. "P" is first seen refusing to stone a rabbit to death if it will mean killing an innocent animal just to demonstrate his ability to engage with an enemy. While "A" finds it difficult to believe that he is capable of having free will, "P" is a man of intense passion who is sometimes consumed with worry and, at other times, radiant with love for his best friend.

JD Scalzo in a scene from warplay (Photo by: Lois Tema)

warplay's scenes have titles like "In The Blood, "Small Thing," "Echoes of a Ticking Clock," and "Capture the Flag." As the sounds of a nearby battle fill the theatre, A & P (who should not be confused with the former supermarket chain) argue and fight with each other because that's what their culture expects men to do. Even if they have deep feelings of affection and lust for each other's warmth, it is often difficult for them to articulate their love ("A" clearly feels a responsibility to protect "P" but has never shown much curiosity about what "P" hopes to get out of their relationship).

Compellingly directed by Ben Randle on Devin Kasper's unit set (with costumes by Miriam Lewis, and projections and sound designed by Theodore J. H. Hulsker), the two men are seen as young adults ready to go to battle as well as adolescents attempting to model themselves on the Greek version of GI Joe. While there are parts of Lee's 75-minute play that could benefit from greater cohesion, the dramatic high point occurs when "A" returns to the banks of the river Styx, sees the spirit of "P" standing on the opposite shore, and asks if "P" still remembers him.

Lee has written two extremely meaty roles for the actors who portray "A" and "P." Ed Berkeley and JD Scalzo rise to the challenge with a forceful display of blood, sweat, and tears, delivering remarkable performances that gain added impact from the intimacy of the 60-seat Walker Theatre. As the playwright explains:

“Television is about economy: what’s the most efficient and interesting way to tell the story. Film is about structure: how do you we tell a story in two hours in the most commercial way possible. Theatre is about language and action: what’s the most interesting vocabulary with which to tell the story. Writing a two-person play is fucking hard. It requires deeply mining the emotional journey the two characters are on and dramatizing the nuance. I was always impressed with Andrew Haigh’s ability while filming Looking to maneuver the camera into the most intimate moments that two people share (whether they be embarrassing, sexy, or horrifying in their revelations).

What you find in theatre is that you just don’t have that tool. You can’t move the audience in. You’ve got to make the moment bigger so everyone in the theatre can experience it. That’s a really hard thing to do without compromising the truth of the emotional moment. If you just write television for a long time, you forget how to let characters talk and breathe. If you write features too long, you don’t remember that structure isn’t the paramount concern of storytelling. If all you write are plays, you wind up hewing to a very small demographic of people, which limits the scope of what you can write about.”

Performances of warplay continue at the New Conservatory Theatre through July 2 (click here for tickets). Here's the trailer: